Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
by xlonelytylenolx
Summary: Mark's shower is interrupted. postRent, postMimi. MarkRoger.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mark and Roger, or anything else affiliated with Rent.

Mark sighed to himself.

The shower. This was his place of solitude: his place to relax, let go, and follow the motions. Even if those motions were raunchy and impure. Even if they left him panting and satisfied.

However, the truth of the matter was that Mark and Roger's loft had a limited supply of hot water. A _very_ limited supply. And when Mark went through these raunchy and impure motions, he tended to stay in the shower a little too long for Roger's liking.

Roger had taken cold showers every day for the past 2 weeks.

That is why on this particular morning, just seconds after Mark's heartfelt sigh of relief, Roger came bursting into the shower, slamming the curtain askew and nearly causing Mark to slip backwards and bang his head.

All Mark could do was look at Roger in a sheer state of confusion. After Roger's big entrance, he'd simply gotten into the shower like everything was normal. He was calm as anything, which seemed crazy after the way he'd ripped open the shower curtain.

Mark stood and blinked.

"I'm sick of cold showers, and I'm not shy. We're showering together."

Mark stood and blinked.

"Come on, buddy. Relax. I've seen you naked before, you just don't know I have," Roger laughed. It seemed almost maniacal to Mark.

"What!" Mark turned bright red. Suddenly he was taking in all the circumstances of the situation. Suddenly he realized he was stark naked, standing openly in front of Roger, with a rather distinct erection. Suddenly he remembered all the times he'd dreamed of this situation, yet so differently. Suddenly he remembered how much he'd been trying to force himself to take a chance on Roger.

Mark wanted Roger more that he'd ever wanted any girl he'd ever met. Trying to let it go hadn't worked. He had tried so, so hard. He had tortured himself for months trying to find anything to keep his mind off of his beautiful roommate. It had all been nonsense – for nothing. He couldn't get Roger out of his head.

He knew Roger wasn't gay, but he had to just try. Maybe once formally rejected by Roger, Mark would finally be able to get over his heart-wrenching affliction of unrequited love.

Mark relaxed a bit and slipped under the water next to Roger, trying to seem as calm as possible. It was a tight squeeze, and Mark was certainly not complaining. He tried not to make the staring at Roger look obvious, which was easy as Roger washed his hair, paying no attention to Mark at all. Mark had to admit that seeing Roger's erection gave him a small sliver of hope, but he quickly suppressed that hope remembering the fact that most guys wake up with one.

Suddenly Mark was spun around, back pinned to the wall with Roger's right hand. With his left, he began reaching for something. Mark was so confused by this situation, he barely had time to register that he was clearly in a position to have dirty, rough sex with Roger.

"Heh. Soap." Roger said, and reached for the brand new bar in the holder, now next to Mark's chest.

_This is your chance_, Mark thought to himself. He was biting his lip, the sweat dripping from his forehead unnoticeable due to the water running out of the showerhead. He was flustered and feeling idiotic and highly unnerved, but he knew this was his moment. If he let this slip away, he may never muster up the courage again. _Just kiss him. Don't think about it; just do it. Just lean a little bit forward… Come on now! You can do this. You have to – _

He'd done it. He was kissing Roger. Scratch that – Roger was kissing him. Wait a second. Roger was kissing him? Roger…was kissing him.

As soon as it sunk in, Mark was so taken aback that he immediately pushed Roger off of him. The two shared a brief moment of calmness. Each looked deeply into the other's eyes, searching for answers to unspoken questions. Both were breathing heavily and uneven.

Suddenly Mark began laughing hysterically.

"That…really just happened." He said. His laugh was whole-hearted and he couldn't stop. "Really. That – wow. I mean…yea. That really just happened."

If Mark had been laughing at anything else, Roger would have been happy to see his friend laughing like that. It was the first time he'd seen Mark's face so lit up in years. But at that moment, it just hurt.

Mark stopped laughing long enough to see the pained expression on Roger's face. He watched Roger turn, trip, get up and out of the shower, run, slip. From the small part of his mind that was still a bit amused, he couldn't help but smile at the reversal of roles. Mark was normally the klutz.

But reality kicked in quickly and he ran after Roger, realizing Roger must have taken his laughter as mocking. He found Roger distraught and trying desperately to turn the shoddy doorknob that should have been replaced months before.

Marks snuck up behind Roger and placed his arms around his waist. "Going somewhere?" He whispered in his ear. _Wow, Mark,_ he thought to himself, _that was actually suave._

"I thought – it's just," Roger began. Mark was still highly amused by the fact that, at the moment, he was the cool, calm, collected one while Roger was the bumbling idiot. He let him go on. "I mean…you just seemed so –"

"I was just so happy." Mark finally cut him off. "I _am_ so happy. That is to say, if you meant to do what you did. Or maybe…"

_Shit. Shit. What was I thinking?_ With a gut-wrenching sickness, Mark was overcome by the slight possibility that Roger hadn't actually meant to kiss him like that. He could have just been caught up in the heat and the steam. Maybe Roger had been picturing kissing April or Mimi. Unable to stand, he let go of Roger and sat down against the wall.

"No, I meant it." Roger said, kneeling next to Mark. He took Mark's chin in his hand and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Now things were as they should be. Mark was confused and nervous, and Roger was confident and in control. This was normal. _Well, as normal as things could be when your best friend who you thought liked women is kissing you,_ Mark thought. Aside from a few scares, his day so far had been highly amusing.

"So…what does this mean?" Mark asked, secretly hating himself for it. Why did he have to be so logical? Why couldn't he just let things happen, whether he understood them or not?

"I think it means we like each other." Suddenly Mark wasn't so angry with himself. He was, however, grinning broadly and looking down at the floor sheepishly in a feeble attempt to hide his immensely red cheeks. Roger tickled under Mark's chin and he fidgeted, lifting his head, laughing lightly. When their eyes locked, Roger spoke again.

"Maybe we should get back into the shower…"


End file.
